Saturday 7 April 2012

Class act and Clarets kit from Burnley

Burnley charity, Furniture for  Education Worldwide has again come to the aid of the Happy House by offering to help furnish our new primary classrooms.
Much of our furniture, now being used in the Happy House and in school, came via Furniture for Education, which recycles surplus educational and office furniture.
So when Terry Burns, founder of the charity,  heard that Mama Sue was building a primary school he and his trustees stepped in by offering to help equip it - and with Sue and Dave in the UK for our charity night provided the perfect opportunity  for them to visit Burnley and to see for themselves what was in store!
Terry  said:"We are very happy to be able to help Sue once again. She is a Lancashire woman who is making a huge difference to children's lives and we know that everything we send to her is used exactly for the purposes intended.
"I was very privileged to be at the opening of the Happy House in March 2010 and to see for myself the faces of the kids we are helping. We have stayed in touch with Sue and followed the progress of the Happy House and can see  how she is breaking the mould and setting new standards of excellence in residential childcare and education in Kenya.
"It is amazing what one woman, determined to make a difference, can do."
Terry, who lives in Burnley and is NW Political Officer for Unite, founded Furniture for Education Worldwide in 2007 after seeing the amount of furniture being discarded in skips from schools and offices being refurbished.
The donated goods are warehoused, and shipped to non-profit establishments in needy countries including Egypt, Ghana, Pakistan, India and Kenya. We will share the costs of shipping.
Amongst the furniture will be cabinets from Senator, mattresses donated by Silentnight and football kit from Burnley FC.
Sue says: "We are extremely grateful to Terry and Furniture for Education. They have done so much to help us - every desk and every chair at the Happy House have come from here, plus much, much more.
"We have one of the best equipped schools in the area, we also take day pupils from the community, and can offer a very high standard of education.
"The football kit from the Clarets will be fantastic for both our children and for others who attend a football academy for street children in nearby Malindi.
"Working with Terry in this way is a great illustration of small charities working together."